Meet the Bacon(s)

After having a huge surplus of milk and wondering what to do with it, we started asking around what other people do.  It seems most people either 1. give it away or 2. raise hogs.  We opted for number 2.  Since we are already paying for the goat feed and hay, it would be a waste of money to just give the milk away.  We opted to get two American Guinea Hogs.  We got a female and a castrated male (don't want to have to worry about additional piglets).
   We spent Labor Day weekend getting their electric fence set up.  Until now they had been in their pen, but not with electric fencing.  This will not allow them to dig under the fence when they are rooting.  We made them a house out of straw bales and some free corrugated roofing we got from where else but craigslist.

  These hogs will eat just about anything.  To raise them healthy and frugally we are trying to feed them as much veggie scraps (I am even soliciting scraps from Family Z), cooked eggs (raw eggs are bad for hogs) and goats milk.  We did buy a bag of hog feed just in case one day we are running low on natural food.
  We have yet to name them... any thoughts?  I think it should be a food related name like Bacon or Backstrap... or something random like Petunia...

Im Seeing Red

Mostly in our garden we grow weeds.  I am an incredibly good weed grower.  It just comes naturally.  There happen to be some plants that are coexisting with the weeds- we have tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers to name a few.  In one garden bed last year we added in a bunch of rabbit poop to compost. This year we planted a tomato plant and pumpkin plant in it.  We lovingly refer to the tomato plant as our tomato on crack.  I am not sure if this plant just got lucky, or if the poop really helped but this sucker is huge!  For the longest time we had huge green tomatoes and now they are ripening to red.  I am freezing what we dont eat fresh to be used in sauce later when I have enough. 

 This one tomato weight 1 pound 1 ounce!

One day's garden haul.  Eggs, Goat milk, tomatoes and peppers.

New Farm Additions

Meet Buddie the Buck

On Sunday I drove down to a farm to pick up a new LaMancha buck (Mocha is a LaMancha and Latte is 50% LaMancha).  I ended up coming home with the buck as well as two piglets!  We have been wanting to get pigs, American Guinea Hogs to be precise, to help with our surplus of milk.  In doing research a lot of people have recommended growing pigs on milk (and feed). You can also feed pig eggs as long as they are cooked.  We are now up to 5-6 eggs a day.  Whatever eggs we don't sell we will boil and give to the pigs.  I am hoping to raise them extremely frugally since we are already paying for chicken and goat feed. They are already gobbling up the milk from this mornings milking!

They need names...One castrated boy and one girl

Friday Farm Update

Big news here at Victory Garden Farm!  We found a wonderful family who wants to buy 2 gallons of milk each week.  Our fridge has been busting at its seams with milk.   If you remember, it got to the point I was taking milk baths and feeding it to the chickens because we had so much milk.  Such a waste!  It is illegal to sell raw milk in Maryland for human consumption.  So why am I so excited to tell everyone that I have a buyer?  Because this family has a wildlife animal rescue and needs the milk for the abandoned animals.  Completely legal sale.  They have everything from baby deer to alpacas. 

We get about 3 gallons of milk a week from Mocha so after giving them 2 gallons we have a gallon for our personal use. Hubby and I really dont need much more than that, so this arrangement is perfect! Mocha has her own savings account now. All the money that we receive from the rescue center goes towards buying fence panels for the goat pen. So Mocha is really earning her larger pen. I can't tell you how much this helps! We are incredibly blessed to have hooked up with this rescue center. Its a win-win for everyone

Goat Milking 101

In case you aren't sick of hearing about the goats I thought I would show you how we milk.  Did you know that more people in the world drink goats milk than any other type of milk?  Here in the States we assume that the majority of people drink cows milk since that is what we are accustomed to. Not the case.  I can't imagine how much milk we would have if we had a cow.  I believe cows give upwards of 5 gallons a day.  I am stumped with just one gallon daily!

  Mocha is the first goat to be milked and she hops right up on the stand.  There is a moveable brace for her head so that once I lock her in, she can't pull her head out.  She has plenty of room to bend her head, I just don't have to worry about her going anywhere.  This is the most common and easiest way of milking.  Once a goat is trained on the stand, you can also trim their hooves and administer medications should they need them without stressing the animal too much.  I sit on a hay bale next to the stand. I milk by hand, usually one teat at a time.  Some people use both hands, one on either teat but I prefer to do one hand.  Then I can switch if and when my hand gets cramped.

After the teats are completely emptied of milk I will let the goat continue to eat while I strain the milk.  Straining is important because it ensures the cleanliness of the milk.  During milking, hairs from the goat, pieces of hay or whatever can fall into the milk pail therefore contaminating the milk.  By straining immediately after milking we are able to get any impurities out asap.  I usually strain Mocha's milk in the barn, and take Latte's up to the house before straining.

We store the milk either in quart mason jars, or half gallon glass milk jars in the fridge.  Glass is the easiest to clean and sterilize.  I don't recommend using plastic milk jugs as its hard to ensure the plastic is clean enough.  With milk you never can be too careful.  So there you have it!  The whole process should take 15-20 minutes.  More if you decide to sit and play with the baby goats...

Milk, Milk and Cheese?

We have a total surplus of fresh milk here.  Considering how we are just two people and we are adding about a gallon of milk a day to the fridge, its hard to get ahead.  Today I decided to tackle the problem head on.  I made two batches of chocolate pudding.  One batch I put in the freezer pop mold so we can enjoy them on a hot summer day.  The other batch I put directly into jelly size mason jars to take in lunches.  I made a batch of yogurt which should yield 7 yogurt containers worth of yogurt.  And currently I have my attempt at cheese hanging from a cabinet pull.  I followed a simple recipe for farmers cheese but had some issues.  First off, during the time specified in the recipe, I didnt have any curds.  So I had to re-cook the milk and add more lemon juice.  That mixture bubbled over the pot.  Now my kitchen smells like burnt milk.  ulgh.  On a good note, it did curdle that time and I have a nice batch of curds hanging.  Hubby and I are going to the movies tonight so hopefully when we get back, we will have cheese.

Anyone know what to do with whey?  I might google a whey bread recipe since I think I am most familiar with that.
 

Goat's Milk Ice Cream

With a surplus of fresh raw goats milk I am up for trying anything to use it up.  Last year I bought this ice cream maker on clearance at the end of summer.  I think maybe I paid $10?  Regardless, it was super cheap and works like a charm.  I brought it to the family I nanny for thinking it would be a fun activity to do with the kids.  So while the baby napped, the older kids and I made ice cream.  Every five minutes I would hear "Can I eat the ice cream yet?"  How do you explain having to wait a few hours for it to freeze to a three year old?  After nap time we sampled the not-quite-frozen ice cream and declared it good!  We will definitely do this again soon as summer is quickly approaching.  For this round we made old fashioned vanilla.  Maybe next time we will try making a different flavor.  I know you can buy flavor mixes at Target, but to me that defeats the purpose.  I want to use whole ingredients without any additives.  This way we know exactly what goes into our ice cream.  Last night I sat on the porch swing enjoying the fruits of our labor.  I topped the ice cream with strawberry jam I had made for my sister's wedding.  As the three year old says "delicious!"

Hello and Goodbye

This week there are a lot of changes going on around the farm. The chicks said hello to their new coop. Mama Bunny said hello to her babies. And the farm will say goodbye to Meanie. Today Meanie has her date with the butcher. In just a few hours I will load her into the truck and she will say goodbye to her home. Sad? yes. Part of life? yes. It may be her last day with us, but that doesnt mean she is neglected. In fact, this morning she had got herself tied up and couldnt stand. I dropped everything I was doing to go untangle her. She may only have a few hours left, but by golly, they will be good hours. Hubby gave the goats extra hay last night, and they got extra rations this morning. I dont think Meanie knows what is going to happen later, and maybe its better that way.

On a happier note, Mama Bunny is doing well. All 7 babies are alive so far. I realized last time that I can't count them as alive until after a week or so. If Mama bunny feels that one or two are weaklings, she will take care of it. And by that, I mean she will eat them, dispose of the evidence. I always thought it was horrible that a rabbit could and will eat their young. I guess if I look at it from the rabbits perspective, she is doing it to save the others. If she were in the wild, a predator could sense the weak babies and would be drawn to the nest. So perhaps that one weak runt would be the death of the whole litter. The mama would just be trying to put the best interests of the rest of the babies ahead of one baby. So far, all our babies look fat and healthy. I am hoping they all live and will keep you updated.

Today is another cold dreary day. I dont think its supposed to heat up much. I am layered in my farm clothes, drinking my coffee, with the heater turned down. Tonight Hubby and I are hopefully doing our taxes. It will be our first year owning a home, and I am hoping to get a tax break. Last year we barely got a refund, and this year we could really use it. We are still not using credit cards, and while its hard!, its also sooo much better. There isnt the stress hanging over us while we wait for the bill to come. If we dont have the money, we dont buy it. This is teaching us restraint, but also to be content with what we have. I have been knitting from my stash and realizing how much yarn I do have. We are cooking "from the pantry". We go grocery shopping for fresh veggies and fruits as well as coffee and milk. Other than that we are trying to clean out the pantry. We have a ton of frozen meat in the chest freezer and are going to try to thin it out. We are learning to adapt and use what we have. We are loving it! Once Kisses has babies (if she is pregnant), we wont have to buy milk at the store. We havent bought eggs since I cant remember when. We will have even more meat, after Meanie's date. The baby bunnies will fill the freezer too. When the chicks are old enough to lay, we will thin out our flock. Our meat chicks will be ready in a month. I want to buy as little at the grocery store as possible.

This post is getting way off topic...and laundry is calling. We are looking forward to what other hellos and goodbyes will happen here on the farm. Stay tuned!

Got Milk?

MMMmmmm.....

A girl, A goat, and A glass of milk

Today I couldnt wait to get off work. I rushed home to Hubby. Together we went up to a nearby dairy goat farm. We went to see a breeder about buying a nubian goat. We left with so much more. the breeder and her husband enamored us with a two week old goat kid. They kindly let me bottle feed him. I would have took him home with me if allowed to. He was so cute! Next we met their 4 month old cow. The cow liked me only because I was covered in milk from the baby goat spilling everywhere. The breeder and her husband called the herd of goats and all came running. Bringing up the rear, was the very heavily pregnant doe. They guessed she would deliver tonight. yes, my friends, we got to inspect the mucus coming from you-know-where... The breeder showed us how to tell when the doe is close to kidding (giving birth). We got extremely personal with her goats :) We met Kisses, the goat that would leave there with us. Kisses is a 3 year old doe. We think she is (and hope she is) pregnant. The breeder said last year Kisses had twins. Imagine that! Since our whole reasoning for having goats here at Victory Garden Farm, is to get milk, eventually we will have to have a pregnant doe. Since Billy is not old enough or interested enough, we could either buy a pregnant one, or take ours to a stud. We thought we would add Kisses to our herd. We talked, and played with the animals, and talked some more. If ever there was a couple knowledgable about goats, it would be these two. The breeder asked if we wanted to milk one of the goats. Of course! Her husband asked if we had ever actually tasted goats milk. I sheepishly had to answer that I hadn't. At least not that I could remember. Into the milking room we went. John had built a milking stand (hint hint hubby...) that enables her to milk. Once the goat was in place on the stand the breeder explained how to do it. Contrary to what most people think, there is no pulling on the teat. They gave Hubby and I small cups to try the milk. Amazing. We drank it cool from the fridge. I could have drank way more, but didnt want to be rude. Once I was done with my glass, I got to try my hand at milking. The first few squirts were awkward, but then I got the hang of it. I am no where near fast, but I can do it. Hubby got to try too, and between the two of us, we got a small amount. Her husband strained it for us, and put it in a jar to take home. I am proud to say that the milk in the fridge is milk we milked ourselves! Thats a first for sure.

Eventually we made our way down towards the house. We got to meet, and play with the hogs. They are off to the butcher tomorrow. It might seem sad, but really its not. These three hogs have had an amazing life outdoors. They were allowed to root up the old garden plot, play in the mud and do what they were meant to do. Yes, they are going to end up as food. At least they have had a good life, and didnt grow up in a concrete pen like most hogs. The turkey is happy and fat. Chickens and ducks roam free, and are locked up at night for safety. The goats and cow happily graze in the pastures. No matter what the future is for any given animal, it should be allowed the chance for a good life.

After playing with the hogs, we gathered up our milk, and our new goat Kisses. Hubby and I needed a drink, so we stopped at McDonalds. On the way there, Kisses had peed and pooped in the car. Hubby, always thinking, had anticipated this, and laid a tarp down on the floor of the back. When we stopped, I took Kisses out so he could dump out the tarp. I know she is a goat, but we didnt want her laying in her filth, even just for the short car ride. Imagine, pulling into a McDonalds parking lot. There, acting like it is an everyday occurance, is this crazy girl with a goat on a leash. For once, I was that crazy person in the parking lot. Although, when its you, it doesnt seem so crazy. Armed with ice teas and a clean tarp we headed back home.

We are letting Kisses meet the herd slowly over the next week. We want everyone to get along, and eventually they will. For tonight they are seperate. Everyone got an extra ration of hay and no one is complaining.

This girl is going to have a glass of goats milk tonight before bed. Just a usual saturday at Victory Garden Farm, or not...

New Kids on the Block

Today we adopted two kids! Not human kids, but baby goats. They are 10 weeks old and as adorable as can be. I drove almost 2 hours to pick them up. The trip was well worth it. I went for one dairy goat, and came home with two babies. When I got to the sellers house, he introduced me to all the goats. I let him know what we were looking for, and he showed me what was available. My choices were between pregnant goats, currently milking goats, or the young babies. As much as I would love to have a pregnant goat, I didn't feel that hubby and I are ready for that quite yet. A milking goat would be nice. I concluded that two female kids would be the best fit for us. We could raise them from the bottle. They will be used to us. Then when they are old enough, we can "rent a stud" and breed them. Thus by buying the babies, we can have, in the future, pregnant goats and milking goats. That, and we dont have "real" fencing up yet. So I paid the man, shook his hands, gathered up my babes, and drove home. We had to make a stop at the tractor supply store to get feed. I walked out of the store, and heard my new babies bleeting in the bed of the truck. This will be fun... Once we were home, goats, housing and feed in store, I introduced them to hubby. The family was complete. Hubby, me and two kids... well not exactly...It was hard to leave them to go to work, but a goat has to eat, and feed costs money, so off to work I go... Ill update pictures when I get them off the camera and on the computer. Enjoy!